Three of top five in final regular season 7A ranking are Gwinnett teams

Archer Head Coach Andy Dyer speaks to the team after completing a perfect regular season, the first for the Tigers since 2013. Image courtesy Tony Rowe.

Three of the top five, and five of the top 10, football teams in the final regular season Georgia High School Football Daily (GHSFD) AAAAAAA ranking are Gwinnett teams after each closed their regular season schedule with wins. The victories all came in blowout style, and resulted in all five teams maintaining their previous week’s position going into the opening round of the GHSA playoffs.

The winners outscored the losers in the five games by 199 points (225-26) resulting in an average final score of 45-5.Archer shutout Shiloh, 49-0, to keep the No. 2 spot while Grayson beat South Gwinnett by 38, 44-6, to maintain the No.4 slot andNorth Gwinnett defeated Discovery by a 41-7 tally to finish No.5. TheBrookwood (No.7) and Mill Creek(No.10) wins over Lakeside-Atlanta (35-6) and Duluth (56-7) secured their Top 10 ranking.

The Tigers finished 10-0 for their first perfect season since 2013 while the Rams and Bulldogs both finished 9-1, the Broncos posted an 8-2 mark, and the Hawks went 7-3. All five of the county teams are good enough that they could have gone undefeated in any other region, and are all legitimate contenders for the AAAAAAA title.

A look at the teams the losses came against confirm the level of competition in the county:

The lone blemish on Grayson’s season was a 6-3 loss against Archer.

North Gwinnett fell to a Walton team that went 10-0 in the regular season and finished No. 3 in the GHSFD final ranking when they met on opening day as part of the Corky Kell Classic.

Brookwood’s losses came by 15 points against two of the three teams that went unbeaten in 7A, Archer as part of the Kell Classic and Walton the following week.

Mill Creek has the most losses of any team in the Top 10, but the Hawks losses were against Archer (16-13), North Gwinnett (35-21), and Mountain View (20-17). While the loss to the Bears was an upset, it is just another example of the talent in the county. Mt. View posted their best record (7-3) in their brief history, and joins Meadowcreek (7-3) as county teams on the verge of state-wide recognition.

Below is the final regular season GHSFD ranking:

GHSFD AAAAAAA Top 10

(November 6, 2017)

1. (1) Lowndes (10-0)

Last week: Off. Next: Friday vs. Campbell (4-6)

2. (2) Archer (10-0)

Last week: Beat Shiloh 49-0. Carter Peevey was 21-of-36 passing for 266 yards and four touchdowns, two to Braylen Weems, one an 83-yarder. Archer completed its first 10-0 regular season since 2013. Next: Friday vs. Meadowcreek (7-3)

3. (3) Walton (10-0)

Last week: Beat Woodstock 42-37. Walton trailed 31-28 in the fourth quarter before scoring two touchdowns and clinched the Region 4 title. Austin Kirksey was 13-of-19 passing for 255 yards and two touchdowns. WR Dominick Blaylock had five catches for 94 yards and rushed for 39 yards and three touchdowns. D.J. Soyoye ran for 129 yards, with a 64-yard touchdown in the first half. Walton won its first region title and completed its first 10-0 regular season since 2011. Next: Friday vs. North Cobb (6-4)

4. (4) Grayson (9-1)

Last week: Beat South Gwinnett 44-6. D.J. Irons was 12-of-20 passing for 170 yards. Grayson led 9-0 with 2:25 left in the first half when LB Owen Pappoe returned a fumble 29 yards for a touchdown. Next: Friday vs. Norcross (5-5)

5. (5) North Gwinnett (9-1)

Last week: Beat Discovery 41-7. North Gwinnett led 35-0 in the first half and rested its starters in the second. Tyler Goodson rushed for 89 yards on 13 carries and scored two touchdowns. North Gwinnett enters the playoffs as a No. 1 seed for the first time since 2014. Next: Friday vs. North Forsyth (5-5)

6. (6) Tift County (9-1)

Last week: Beat Camden County 21-10. Tift County overcame three first-half turnovers and nailed down Region 1's No. 2 seed and earned its first home playoff game and nine-win season since 2006. Griffin Collier was 13-of-25 passing for 147 yards and a touchdown. Next: Friday vs. Newnan (4-6)

7. (7) Brookwood (8-2)

Last week: Beat Lakeside-Atlanta 35-6. Chris Carter rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown on five carries. Angelo DeSpigna threw two TD passes, one a 69-yarder to Nick Prince on the final play of the third quarter for a 28-6 lead. Next: Friday vs. South Gwinnett (3-7)

8. (8) Colquitt County (7-3)

Last week: Off. Next: Friday at Pebblebrook (6-4)

9. (9) South Forsyth (9-1)

Last week: Beat West Forsyth 28-14. South Forsyth took a 28-0 lead into the fourth quarter and clinched Region 5. Cal Morris threw TD passes of 23 and 20 passes to Ze'Vian Capers. Next: Friday vs. Mountain View (8-2)

10. (10) Mill Creek (7-3)

Last week: Beat Duluth 56-7. Mill Creek led 49-0 at halftime. Uriah Leverette ran for 138 yards and two touchdowns on six carries. Cameron Johnson rushed for 135 yards on 10 carries. Parker Wroble returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown. Next: Friday vs. West Forsyth (7-3)